Mattyblue

24,500?! Behave! That would mean around 13/14,000 home fan walk ons at £27-£33, up to £36 on the day! No chance. We never saw close to that walk on figure when riding high in the PL, never mind when 9th in the second division. Many floating fans and their families will be getting their Rovers Festive fix tonight. They won’t be shelling out £100+ on Boxing Day. We’ll do well to attract 15-17,000.

I thought 2000/01 was compulsory, the 2005 cup tie and replay wasn’t, from memory. Nothing at all occurred in those cup games, well apart from that daft Dingle that ran on the pitch, yet every other game since has been bubble bused.

Wasn’t that in about March? The 2000 fixture at Turf Moor was this time of year though, 17 years since our last meeting, it was absolutely febrile in the pubs round Ewood waiting for the coaches and then on the ground.

8,000 a piece the Darwen and Blackburn Ends - 5000 lower/3000 upper.

Every capacity is incorrect there. The Jack Walker holds around 11,000. Only the Blackburn End lower is in use which has a 5,000 capacity. Riverside holds around 4,000.

Was Chapman brought in for the development squad considering he’s 22, not 18/19 and was playing first team football for us two years ago? More likely he’s been banished there due to poor form and attitude.

So why mention it then?

The 2,000 Wigan fans have been put in the upper tier, so the Darwen End of the ground will look as barren as usual, the Blackburn End lower and Jack Walker will be pretty much full though...

So? Just because Birmingham was announced as Category A in the summer doesn’t mean it’s a good decision. It’s Cat A because usually you get a couple of thousand extra through the gate on Boxing Day. So instead of thinking, ‘traditional football day so how do we make that extra 2k, an extra 5/6/7k?’, the club just decides to milk that 2k at £27-£33. I’m not getting particularly annoyed about it, as it was always going to be Cat A and Wigan looks to be selling well, so we will see a bumper Xmas crowd at least once this year.

Like a few of us said at the time, O’Neill, like Chris Coleman, whose reputation had soared with Wales took the Sunderland gig, was mad to take this job. Clubs in these tailspins, with overpaid, demotivated mercenaries stinking out the place are almost impossible to turn around in the short term. Still, suppose it pays well...

I was in the Riverside in that era and I’m sure there used to be a lady with a tea trolly and urn at the corner with the Darwen End. I distinctly remember queueing up for a brew/wagon wheel in the 91/92 promotion season as I had a close up view of Brighton’s away kit that was a pink and white patterned number. All very early 90s Also, remember when you had pie sellers wandering around the stands with that blue pie box fastened to them (or have I dreamt that too?).

Definitely no Hudds sell out then...

Some interesting tidbits. We’ve sold 200 half STs so far. Usually sell 500 by the time they go off sale. In a way, this good run has started slightly late as you imagine a lot of folk would buy for Xmas presents in November. Be interesting if they spike if we win on Monday. https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/18107472.rovers-hope-optimism-cut-price-tickets-can-boost-attendance/

I would’ve seen us sell Hudds out at £20ish, at £30 I doubt it unfortunately.

Samba made his debut at Luton in the cup... so almost (geography aside )

I always thought Roberto and Dino Baggio were brothers... until the latter trapped up at Ewood.

I think there will be a much bigger crowd than if it was still on the Saturday, as it would have been the usual core paying £25-£33 a ticket.

Love to see it chadster, but that would mean us selling 6000 or so matchday tickets around the £30 mark, so can't see it personally. Though selling a decent amount of half STs would help...

I can't see the Boxing Day crowd being much more than 15k or so as it's Category A, especially as a few floating fans may plump for Wigan at a tenner instead. it was never going to happen, but £10 for Birmingham would've seen a 20,000+

Yeah I think so, didn’t pull up any trees, but ok.

Samuel was ok in League 1, never a Championship player, so you’d assume he’ll be off in the summer when he’s out of contract.

I thought it was up to the home club. So Leeds let their game against us be shown last Boxing Day as it was a sell out, our NYD against West Brom wasn’t shown.

Nine day gap between their game yesterday and when they visit us on the 23rd. If they are going to pot him, you’d think every chance it will be next week...

You tell ‘em Dunny

A point from the playoffs as we hit the festive period. The club needs to blitz the database to get folk signed up for half STs. ‘Join the play off/promotion push’.